Pons pad Rls 


SS s ie oe ad 


THE 


STORY OF A FAMOUS BOOK: 


An Account 
OF 


DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


BY 


SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. 





' 


THE 


STORY OF A FAMOUS BOOK: 


An Account 


OF 


DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


BY 


SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. 


BOSTON: 
FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION. 
1871. 











CAMBRIDGE: 
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. — 








Tue following article originally appeared in the 
“Atlantic Monthly” for February of this year, under 
the title of ‘‘ The Story of a Famous Book.” A small 
edition is now reprinted, with the consent of the pub- 
lishers of that magazine, for a few friends of the 


writer. 


1871. 


THE STORY OF A FAMOUS BOOK. 


Ir is now eighty years since the death of Dr. Franklin, and 
during this time his Autobiography has been more extensively 
read in this country than any other historical work. It was, 
perhaps, the earliest American book that acquired and sustained 
a great popularity. Other books may have had a greater local 
or temporary success, but to this one alone belonged a general 
and permanent reputation. There have been written many 
Lives of Washington, but none of them is to be compared in 
style and interest with the charming production of the great 
philosopher. Its history as a book has been so eventful, that it 
may be of sufficient interest to give some of its bibliographical 
details. ‘lhe narrative was written at different times and places, 
and Franklin himself has given the circumstances under which 
he prepared it. 
- he first part, coming down to his marriage, in 1730, was 
written at Twyford, England, in 1771, while he was visiting 
the family of Dr. Jonathan Shepley, the Bishop of St. Asaph, 
with whom he was on terms of close intimacy and friendship. 
Franklin, as it might be expected from his inquiring mind, took 
a deep interest in the genealogy of his family, and while in 
England made a journey with his son for the purpose of finding 
out the history of his ancestors. ‘he result of this trip is 
given in this portion of the memoirs of his life. The room in 


6 


which it was written was afterwards known as ‘“‘ Dr. Franklin’s 
room.” The sketch was begun for the gratification of his own 
family, and intended for them alone, but afterwards it took a 
wider scope, and was evidently meant for publication. It was 
not until 1784 that he resumed work upon it, and in the mean 
time it had been shown to some of his friends. Three of them 
in particular — Benjamin Vaughan, Abel James, and M. Le 
Veillard — made strong appeals to him to go on with it. Mr. 
Vaughan’s letter urging him to do so is dated January 31, 
1783, and had considerable influence on his taking up again the 
story of his life, which he did the next year. 

The second part of his memoirs, written while he was living 
at Passy, near Paris, is short, and made up mainly of his ideas 
on the philosophy of life, rather than the recital of events. 
When Franklin began the second part at Passy, he says that he 
did not have with him what had already been written. It 
might have been left at his home in Philadelphia after his 
return from England in 1775. ‘This supposition seems plausi- 
ble, for he would not have mentioned the fact if the manuscript 
had been lent temporarily to some friend or neighbor at Passy. 

The third part was begun in August, 1788, while Franklin 
was at home in Philadelphia, and is brought down to 1757. 
This portion ends the Autobiography, as it is always printed, 
except in the edition of the Hon. John Bigelow, which we shall 
have occasion to notice before the close of this article. Franklin 
writes to Mr. Vaughan: ‘* To shorten the work, as well as for 
other reasons, I omit all facts and transactions that may not have 
a tendency to benefit the young reader, by showing him, from 
my example, and my success in emerging from poverty and 


acquiring some degree of wealth, power, and reputation, the ~ 


advantages of certain modes of conduct which I observed, and 
of avoiding the errors which were prejudicial to me.” 

At the end of Mr. Bigelow’s edition is a fourth part, consist- 
ing of a few pages, written in 1789, and not to be found else- 
where in English. These are rather of a political character, 
and bring the memoirs down a year later, when they close. It 


~? 


was Franklin’s intention, as may be inferred from his letters, to 
continue them further, and perhaps to the end of his life; but 
during his last few years he suffered acutely. and much of the 
time was hardly in a condition to write for recreation or pleas- 
ure, to say nothing of his preoccupation with the public duties 
which pressed heavily upon him. 

Immediately after Dr. Franklin’s déath, in 1790, the first 
portion of the memoirs was published in French, at Paris. It 
is a singular fact that this work, which was destined to have so 
great a popularity, should first see the light in a foreign land 
and in a foreign tongue. It has never been satisfactorily ex- 
plained how or why this was so. It is not even certainly known 
who made the translation from the English into the French. It 
has been suggested that the translation might have been made 
from the copy which Franklin promised Mr. Vaughan, in a 
letter dated June 3, 1789. He there says that his grandson 
is copying the memoirs for his old friend. If this copy was sent, 
as is probable, although its existence is now unknown, it should 
have contained the whole memoirs, and the French version 
would have been full and complete. It has been said that M. 
Le Veillard was the translator, but he distinctly denies the 
statement, and furthermore declares that he is utterly ignorant 
of the manner in which the translator procured the copy. It is 
known that M. Le Veillard’s copy contained the whole Auto- 
biography, which makes it almost certain by circumstantial 
evidence that this was not the one from which the translation 
was made. According to the ‘‘ Nouvelle Biographie Générale ” 
(Paris, 1858), it was translated by Dr. Jaques Gibelin, who is 
spoken of in this dictionary as “a physician, naturalist, and 
French translator.” He was an experienced translator of Eng- 
lish, and moreover it is said that he had had the original manu- 
script in his possession. If this be true, it is very probable that 
he was the person who made it, and he may have used a copy 
which was obtained surreptitiously, although we have no knowl- 
edge of such a one. At any rate, a copy might easily have been 
made at any time between 1771, when the first part was written, 


8 


and 1784, when the second part was begun, for we know that 
the manuscript had been shown to different persons, and some 
of Franklin’s friends had read it. The translator, whoever he 
was, states in the Preface that he had a copy of the original 
manuscript in his possession, though he should not give the 
details — of no importance to his readers — how it came into 
his hands. ‘This statement would rather imply either a slight 
irregularity in the manner of his obtaining it, which he did not 
wish to make known, or a complication of circumstances which 
it might not be easy to explain to his readers. He furthermore 
states that the portion in his possession only comprises the first 
part of Franklin’s life, and this is all that was prmted. The 
supposition seems fair that he made a copy, probably unknown 
to Franklin or perhaps forgotten by him. A note is added to 
the Preface of this French edition, requesting those who would 
like to read the Life of Franklin in English to send their names 
to the publisher, and that it would be put to press as soon as 
four hundred subscribers should be obtained. It is probable 
that this number was never secured, as the edition was never 
printed. 

In 1793, two years after its publication in Paris, two separate 
and distinct translations of it were published in London, — the 
one by the Messrs. Robinson, and the other by Mr. J. Parsons. 
It seems a little strange that this should have been so, particu- 
larly as they appeared from the press about the same time. 
Perhaps a rivalry between two publishing firms, as sometimes 
happens in our days, was at the bottom of it. Probably the 
Robinsons’ edition appeared first. Both were noticed in the 
“‘ Monthly Review ” for 1794 (Vol. XIII. p. 804). We are 
unable to give the names of the translators. The Robinsons’ 
edition was edited with more care and is a better translation 
than the other. There is some slight reason for supposing that 
the editor had access to the original manuscript, possibly the 
one lent to Mr. Vaughan; though if this were so, it would be 
difficult to explain why he did not print the original draft, and 
the whole of it. Possibly the owner would not allow it. For 


9 


instance, in the French version Franklin states that he sailed 
from Gravesend on the day of July, 1726, and arrived in 
Philadelphia on the day of October following. These 
blanks are correctly filled up in the edition of the Robinsons, 
with dates that agree with those in the original manuscript, 
while in Parsons’s edition they are left unfilled. From this it 
would seem not improbable that the translator of the former 
had seem an original copy. 








A few slight inaccuracies are also corrected, such as Sooper’s 
Creek for Cooper’s Creek, near Philadelphia, where Franklin 
passed a night with his companions on his first visit to the city. 
The translator of Parsons’s edition speaks of a ‘‘ school of nata- 
tion,” which is an expression that an Anglo-Saxon would hardly 
use. He also makes a singular blunder in calling one of the 
ballads that Franklin wrote in his boyhood the “ Tragedy of 
Pharaoh.” None would recognize under this title the little 
song which was known as “ The Lighthouse Tragedy.” The 
explanation of this droll mistake is found in the fact that the 
word for “ lighthouse ” used in the French copy was Phare. 

The Robinsons’ edition has been republished many times in 
this country and in England, and was the only one in either 
country, till Franklin’s grandson, William Temple Franklin, 
published his grandfather’s Works in London, the second volume 
in 1817, the first and third volumes in 1818. (The Life ap- 
peared in the first volume.) Even since 1818 the Robinsons’ 
translation has passed through many editions, and has often 
been mistaken for the genuine Autobiography, though it was in 
a great measure superseded by the grandson’s copy, which had 
the apparent stamp of authority. 

It is, in fact, an English translation from a French translation 
of the original English. It has never to our knowledge fallen 
to the lot of any book to pass through such a series of changes 
as happened to this; and yet, with the drawback of these 
changes, it has been as charming as a novel to readers of all 
ages. Besides its fascination, it is full of that sound sense and 
practical wisdom which were so characteristic of its author. 


10 


Mr. Bigelow has fallen into a singular mistake, when he says 
that the Parsons edition is the one that has been republished, 
‘‘not only in Europe, but in America, under the impression 
that it is both genuine and complete” ; on the contrary, it is the 
only one that has never been reprinted in either country. ; 

After the death of Franklin, his papers and manuscripts, 
including the original text of the memoirs, came into the pos- 
session of William Temple Franklin, then in Philadelphia, who 
began to arrange them and to prepare for their publication. To 
this end he wrote to M. Le Veillard, a few weeks afterwards, 
announcing the fact and requesting him to allow nobody to see 
the copy then in his hands, unless it should be the person who 
was to give the eulogy before the French Academy. A few 
months later he went to London, and there kept up a corre- 
spondence with M. Le Veillard about the preparation and pub- 
lication of the memoirs. He was evidently apprehensive that 
an English edition would be published, as a French one and two 
English translations had already been, which would materially 
hurt the sale of the one on which he was engaged. From 
these letters to M. Le Veillard, it appears that there resulted a 
slight misunderstanding between them, which brought the cor- 
respondence to an end. 

The preparation of the work which Franklin’s grandson put 
forth in 1817 and 1818 attracted the attention of the literary 
world, and when it finally appeared it was received with great 
favor. It is destined, however, to yield to Mr. Bigelow’s edi- 
tion, which gives the ¢pstssima verba of Franklin. 

The history of the manuscript is full of interest, and can be 
traced very closely. It seems that a copy of the memoirs was 
made in 1789, for M. Le Veillard, by Benjamin Franklin 
Bache, a grandson of Franklin, at that time a young man of 
twenty years of age. he copy was made partly at the insti- 
gation of M. Le Veillard, and was of course highly prized by 
him. It remained in his family — for he lost his life on the 
scaffold during the Revolution, in 1794 — during some years, 
when it was exchanged with William Temple Franklin, at his 


it 


request, for the original manuscript, as he thought it would 
make a cleaner copy for the printer. In this way the auto- 
graph passed from the grandson’s possession into the hands of a 
daughter of M. Le Veillard, and after her death, in 1834, it 
came into the possession of her cousin, M. de Senarmont, 
“‘whose grandson delivered it, on the 26th January, 1867, to 
Mr. John Bigelow, late Minister of the United States at Paris.” 
It will now be understood how the copy made by Benjamin 
Franklin Bache passed back into the Franklin family, and 
furnished the draft for the printers of the first authorized edi- 
tion. On a careful collation with this editio princeps, Mr. 
Bigelow finds that there are more than twelve hundred varia- 
tions from the autograph text. Some of these, it is true, are 
slight and unimportant, but others are very material ones. It 
is possible that Franklin may have suggested some of them him- 
self, while supervising the copy made by his young grandson, 
but the probability is that they were prompted wholly or mainly 
by the taste of William Temple Franklin. The language of 
the original consists of stronger expressions than the corrected 
copy, and in the greater use of colloquial terms. The statement 
of facts is also fuller, — entire phrases being sometimes left out 
of the copy, which might happen from the want of care in 
making it. But it is fair to put the burden of these changes on 
the shoulders of the editor of the work. 

It is a fortunate circumstance for American literature that this 
valuable manuscript should have fallen into the hands of one 
who fully appreciated its value and importance, as Mr. Bigelow 
did. In 1868, the year after it was obtained, Mr. Bigelow pub- 
lished it, and this is the first and the only edition that has the 
stamp of authority. If one wishes to read the Autobiography 
of the philosopher in his’ own words, he must read this one. 
Mr. Bigelow has done his part of the work with care and dis- 
crimination, and has added some notes which throw light on 
the text, besides giving an interesting account of its eventful 
history. He has sometimes slipped into inaccurate statements, 
and in one place makes a suggestion which the context does not 


12 


justify. On Franklin’s first visit to London, whither he had 
gone on the representations of Sir William Keith, Governor of 
Pennsylvania, he had expected to take some letters of recom- 
mendation and a letter of credit for buying a press and types, 
but had been disappointed in receiving them either from the 
Governor in person or from his secretary. He was told that 
they should be put into the bag of letters that was to go on 
board of the ship. After reaching the English Channel, he 
got leave from the captain to search the bag for the desired 
documents, but without the expected result. He says: “I 
found none upon which my name was put as under my care. 
I picked out six or seven, that, by the handwriting, I thought 
might be the promised letters, especially as one of them was 
directed to Basket, the king’s printer, and another to some 
stationer.” In the first line of this quotation, Mr. Bigelow 
suggests that some was evidently intended instead of none, 
though there appears, as it seems to us, no reason for making 
the suggestion. Franklin undoubtedly meant what he wrote, 
and the sense is as complete as it would be with some. More- 
over, the French edition of 1791 has given it as none: “Je 
n’en trouvai aucune sur laquelle mon nom fut écrit.” 

It is a curious fact in bibliographical history, that these me- 
moirs should have been printed in English four different times, 
in four different texts, each one differing from the other in 
almost every line, thus making great and decided changes 
throughout the book. We give below the first two sentences 
of the Autobiography, as they appear in each of the four, 
though these are hardly fair specimens of the variations to be 
seen throughout the volumes, the differences often being 
greater :— detlelen 

“« My dear son, I have amused myself with somé’ little anec- 
dotes of my family. You may remember the inquiries J made, 
when you were with me in England, among such of my relatives 
as were then living; and the journey I undertook for that pur- 
pose.” —ftobinsons’ edition, 1793. 

“My dear son, I have lately amused myself with collecting 


13 


some little anecdotes concerning our family. You must re- 
member the inquiries that I made among such of my relations 
as remained alive, when you were with me in England, as well 
as the journey I undertook for that purpose.” — Parsons’s edt- 
tion, 1793. 

** Dear son, I have ever had a pleasure in obtaining any little 
anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries 
I made among the remains of my relations, when you were 
with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that pur- 
pose.” — Willham T. Franklin’s edition, 1818. 

** Dear son, I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little 
anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries 
I made among the remains of my relations when you were with 
me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose.” 
— Mr. Bigelow’s edition, 1868. 

It is also a curious fact in the history of this book, that there 
are no less than five editions in French, all distinct and different 
translations. The first one which has been spoken of appeared 
in 1791. This brought Franklin’s life down to 1730, being 
that portion of the Autobiography which was written in 1771. 
The next edition was the one translated by Castéra, and pub- 
lished in 1798, with other papers of Franklin in two volumes. 
At the end of the second volume is given most of the second 
portion of the Autobiography. It seems singular that this was 
never printed in English until 1818. It was copied at Phila- 
delphia from the manuscript which had been lent to Citizen 
Delessert. Perhaps the first portion of the Autobiography, 
about which there is so much obscurity, was copied in the same 
way after it had been lent to some friend. The Robinsons’ edi- 
tion was evidently used in the translation. The third edition in 
French, published anonymously, was taken from the London 
edition of 1818 (William 'T. Franklin’s) and appeared the same 
year. This is attributed to Mr. Charles Malo. The fourth 
edition was that of M. Renouard, and was published in 1828. 
The translator had access to the original manuscript, then in the 
possession of the Le Veillard family, as he gives what we have 


14 


called the fourth portion of the Autobiography, which appears 
in English in Mr. Bigelow’s edition only. The fifth and last 
is the version of M. Laboulaye, which appeared in 1866, and 
followed Mr. Sparks’s edition. ‘These five editions were all 
published in Paris. 

M. Laboulaye speaks of still another that was printed in 
Paris in 1841, which was “a new translation from the last 
edition published in New York.” We have never seen this 
edition. 

Those who have not read the Autobiography since their 
childhood we should advise to read it anew. It will be found 
to have charms that few books possess, besides giving an insight 
into the influences that shaped Franklin’s character, and showing 
the motives that guided him through life. The book has passed 


through many editions among all civilized nations, and the 


demand for it still continues. 




















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